Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[madwullie]

11 minutes ago, ICTChris said:

The SNP are the absolutely dominant party in Scottish political life.  They are the biggest party in Westminers,  in Holyrood, in local government.  They very likely have more members in Scotland than the Conservative Party have in the whole United Kingdom.  They aren't a single issue party, they have a broad policy platform, they run for all elections on it and they would continue to do so post-independence.  

The idea that they would voluntarily dissolve themselves upon indepedence is a fantasy.  What is more likely is that they would continue and extend their dominance of Scottish poltics for many years.  Perhaps some of the Cherry/Salmond group would peel off and form a new party but they would be very small and insignificant.  Maybe I'm a pessimist by nature but I think the idea that independence would result in a more pluralistic and varied Scottish politics is completely incorrect.  What is very likely is that we'd have the same sort of government we've had since 1999, soft left/centrist approach but more so because the opposition parties would probably implode due to losing the independence debate/vote.

Of course, what could happen is that independence is a complete disaster, causes economic and social chaos and from this new political movements emerge and sweep the SNP aside.  I don't think that's entirely likely but is probably more likely than a bunch of politicians who have complete control over their country deciding to go their own separate ways because they have disagreements about how to manage the Forestry Commision.

It's all speculation though, of course, and I could very likely be completely wrong.  It's also off topic so I'll be quiet about it now.

 

Must admit I've never thought of it this way. 

[harry94]

5 minutes ago, ICTChris said:

The SNP are the absolutely dominant party in Scottish political life.  They are the biggest party in Westminers,  in Holyrood, in local government.  They very likely have more members in Scotland than the Conservative Party have in the whole United Kingdom.  They aren't a single issue party, they have a broad policy platform, they run for all elections on it and they would continue to do so post-independence.  

The idea that they would voluntarily dissolve themselves upon indepedence is a fantasy.  What is more likely is that they would continue and extend their dominance of Scottish poltics for many years.  Perhaps some of the Cherry/Salmond group would peel off and form a new party but they would be very small and insignificant.  Maybe I'm a pessimist by nature but I think the idea that independence would result in a more pluralistic and varied Scottish politics is completely incorrect.  What is very likely is that we'd have the same sort of government we've had since 1999, soft left/centrist approach but more so because the opposition parties would probably implode due to losing the independence debate/vote.

Of course, what could happen is that independence is a complete disaster, causes economic and social chaos and from this new political movements emerge and sweep the SNP aside.  I don't think that's entirely likely but is probably more likely than a bunch of politicians who have complete control over their country deciding to go their own separate ways because they have disagreements about how to manage the Forestry Commision.

It's all speculation though, of course, and I could very likely be completely wrong.  It's also off topic so I'll be quiet about it now.

 

I think you are right that the party would remain, no one is going to give up that machine. I do think you would see change over time with the new batch of representatives for each party being aligned differently. Labour especially are this weird mix of some left leaning members who are closer to the Green leadership but held back by the constitutional issues and then the social democrats who are pretty indistinguishable from much of the SNP, there's going to be some change there.

A huge amount will depend on how the inevitable Labour civil war plays out. At one extreme it could result in the party virtually dying and at the other, they could come back and win a lot of Greens/SNP support.

[Detournement]

I'm glad everyone has come round to the realisation that Sturgeon is a miserable control freak who wants us all stuck in the house forever. 

Corroboration, the Football bill, Named Person, Minimum pricing, the Hate Crime bill they are currently backtracking on. A nasty bunch of small minded authoritarians. 

[Detournement]

15 minutes ago, harry94 said:

I think you are right that the party would remain, no one is going to give up that machine. I do think you would see change over time with the new batch of representatives for each party being aligned differently. Labour especially are this weird mix of some left leaning members who are closer to the Green leadership but held back by the constitutional issues and then the social democrats who are pretty indistinguishable from much of the SNP, there's going to be some change there.

A huge amount will depend on how the inevitable Labour civil war plays out. At one extreme it could result in the party virtually dying and at the other, they could come back and win a lot of Greens/SNP support.

The SNP are not Social Democrats. You don't  have a RBS failed banker write your economic prospectus unless you are an economically right wing party. 

Edited February 3, 2021 by Detournement

[101]

48 minutes ago, jamamafegan said:

Deary me

Be nice if the dim fucker who posted that could actually speak English.

"Respects"

[GiGi]

1 minute ago, Detournement said:

The SNP are not Social Democrats. You don't  have a RBS failed banker write your economic prospectus unless you are an economically right wing party. 

You're at it.

[Detournement]

4 minutes ago, GiGi said:

You're at it.

https://www.sustainablegrowthcommission.scot/

Sadly not. 

[Todd_is_God]

That can only help the vaccine get hospital numbers etc down.

[Elixir]

1 minute ago, Todd_is_God said:

That can only help the vaccine get hospital numbers etc down.

In this wave, surely? I don't see how up to a third of the UK population won't have been exposed to it by the time winter is over.

[GiGi]

6 minutes ago, Detournement said:

https://www.sustainablegrowthcommission.scot/

Sadly not. 

Alright, which pages of the report support the SNP being economically right wing?

[Elixir]

Edit: good thread.

Edited February 3, 2021 by Elixir

[Highland Capital]

An Oor Willie fan but this is class.

[The Moonster]

Are our news agencies good for anything, aside from driving people to suicide?

[Elixir]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55913913

Quote

Asked how protective the Oxford vaccine could be against new mutations, Dr Pollard said he was anticipating "good protection" against the Kent variant and would publish details "very soon".

On other variants, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "When we look at the new mutations that have been arising in other countries and now also here in the UK - that is the virus trying to escape from human immunity, and that's whether it's from vaccines or from infection.

"I think that's telling us about what's to come, which is a virus that continues to transmit, but hopefully that will be like other coronaviruses that are around us all the time, which cause colds and mild infections.

"We will have built up enough immunity to prevent the other severe disease that we've been seeing over the last year."

Andrew Pollard: another one of the absolute top boys. Someone who has contributed massively to the production of a vaccine that will help end the pandemic. Unlike fantasists and zealots whom I won't name.

[Todd_is_God]

15 minutes ago, Elixir said:

In this wave, surely? I don't see how up to a third of the UK population won't have been exposed to it by the time winter is over.

No in total. Bear in mind, though, anyone who had a mild case last March or April is unlikely to have antibodies still floating about their blood and wouldn't be counted. Which doesn't, of course, mean they aren't protected.

I really do expect the figures to dip in a very similar fashion to last year as we move through the vaccine roll out and into Spring.

Unlike last year, though, they shouldn't be able to go back up. I don't see how they could.

Edited February 3, 2021 by Todd_is_God

[Michael W]

18 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

That can only help the vaccine get hospital numbers etc down.

Approximately 3x the amount of people that have produced a positive test. 

[101]

16 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

That can only help the vaccine get hospital numbers etc down.

I hope we start random blood tests to get an idea the background anti body response because if we get to 50% vaccine plus 15% natural antibody resistance then surely we can ease restrictions faster, obviously depending on if the same group are most likely to have been infected and then have been vaccinated. 

But if it's younger people i.e under 50s that make up the majority of infections then vaccinations are a bonus to the underlying resistance.

[RiG]

8 minutes ago, Highland Capital said:

An Oor Willie fan but this is class.
 

Please tell me someone in the comments has put "Dandy fan here but this is class!"? 

Or going even further back Topper or Wheezer?

[Elixir]

3 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

No in total. Bear in mind, though, anyone who had a mild case last March or April is unlikely to have antibodies still floating about their blood and wouldn't be counted. Which doesn't, of course, mean they aren't protected.

I really do expect the figures to dip in a very similar fashion to last year as we move through the vaccine roll out and into Spring.

Unlike last year, though, they shouldn't be able to go back up. I don't see how they could.

Yup. As said, most estimates of infection are that, by the end of this wave, about ~30% of the UK population will have been infected since the start of the epidemic.

[Highland Capital]

3 minutes ago, RiG said:

Please tell me someone in the comments has put "Dandy fan here but this is class!"? 

Or going even further back Topper or Wheezer?

They have yes!  Someone else in the comments points out that Captain Tom was 18 when the Beano first came out.